Sacramento Police Traffic Patrol Revived After Budget Cuts Slashed Force Three Years Ago

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — After their jobs were all but eliminated three years ago during budget cuts, traffic cops are back on the streets of Sacramento.

Back on the bike and back on the lookout for those not-so-safe Sacramento drivers, Sgt. Adam Vassallo is the head of the newly re-formed Sacramento Police traffic unit.

It was about three years ago and not widely publicized that police decided to put the resources of the traffic division elsewhere.

"For a brief period of time we had no traffic unit," he said.

Then it became very part time.

"One day a week they would go out and do traffic enforcement on their motorcycle," he said.

But things are better, so it's getting tougher for lead foots.

"It's about changing the culture and changing the environment that we live in," he said.

So far Sacramento Police has six dedicated motor cops with plans for more keeping an eye out for menacing motorists or just distracted drivers with the community's help.

"They haven't been exposed to law enforcement paying a lot of attention to them lately," he said.

The unit has three priorities: making school zones safer, focusing on areas with high crash rates, and improving pedestrian and bicycle safety in the city.

So does that mean tons of tickets? Vassallo says not necessarily.

"It's not the main goal, it's not the main focus of the motor officer's attention. What it is, is to go out and educate the community," he said.